List of Changes Disney’s Made Since Monorail Death

I’m trying to compile a list of known changes made to procedures or operations at Walt Disney World since the Monorail Accident that resulted in the death of one monorail pilot. If you can help me add anything I’m missing I’d appreciate it.

Guests are no longer allowed to ride in the nose cone with the monorail pilots.

Added new sensors to all monorail switches and the spur line.

Added additional set of visual confirmation to all switches.

Require Monorail Pilots to drive forward through the switch from the EPCOT loop to the Magic Kingdom express look. This requires moving from the forward cab to the back cab in the EPCOT station and then backing out until they’ve passed the switch.

Monorail Control Coordinator is no longer allowed to leave the monorail station area without having a qualified replacement taking that position. It’s unclear if they’re also required to stay in the tower when trains are switching beams.

Three employees involved in the incident have been suspended with pay pending the results of the investigation.

The Behind the Magic Steam Train tour at Magic Kingdom has been canceled through October 12th. This is probably due to the close proximity of the train barn to the monorail barn. They’re in the same building behind the MK.

Some of these are just temporary changes and some will likely become permanant pending the results of the OSHA and NTSB reports.

Guests can’t ride with the pilot anymore!? That’s garbage. One mistake after all these years and Disney gets all pansy. Guests WANT to ride in that car. Why not let them? I mean, it’s safer than being in the front seat of your car!

Guests were not allowed in the cab with the pilot to allow the pilots to do their jobs without thousands of people asking them questions about the accident. It also allowed them a chance to grieve without guests watching them. It was a decision made out of respect for the pilots. Guests have now been allowed to ride up front again, as I understand it. Disney did NOT “get all pansy,” they simply were looking out for the emotional well being of the family of cast members.

Having spent my vacation at Disney over the July 4th weekend, I was surprised and relieved to hear that, other than the operator, no one else was in the nose cone. I agree that people WANT to ride with the operator but I also agree that they have no business being there.

“One mistake after all these years” is not a reasonable argument to allow ANY distraction to the operator.

Way to go Disney. Safety MUST ALWAYS take precedent over guest preference.

I would ask why would they not have a cast member in the FRONT and BACK of a monorail that will go forward, then reverse over a switch. That only seems to make sense. It was one of the first things I pondered when I heard of this tragic accident.

I wonder if Disney is still going to let these college interns work the Monorail and other important guest safe areas.

Is it me or is just about every employee position, especially in retail areas appear to be a college intern. I realize that is a great way to keep costs low but how much is too much given a college intern was driving the Monorail Purple?

Note that Adam Wuenneberg (who was not a “college intern”, but a part-time castmember who attended college) was not at fault. He followed all procedures and even tried backing the monorail up.

The person driving the other monorail that hit Adam’s was a 60y/o man and not a college program intern. The manager on duty who was at Denny’s when this happened was not a college program intern. The maintanence worker who failed to switch the track was surely not on the college program.

Thus, the people who made the errors were not college program interns (nor anyone involved in the incident).

So I think it’s safe to say that Disney guests are pretty safe in the hands of the college interns, wouldn’t you say? ;)

I have been going to Disney for the last 18 years, sometimes 3 times a year. I have been twice this year one of the times at the end of June. My wife and I have noticed a change in Disney unlike we have seen in the past, lack of training thru out the park, I am sure this is due to the economy with cut backs etc. Disney needs to look close at the operation and how a lack of training could have caused some of the recent accidents. Disney is a first class operation and they need to keep it that way.

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